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Thanks for visiting Consumerist.com. As of October 2017, Consumerist is no longer producing new content, but feel free to browse through our archives. Here you can find 12 years worth of articles on everything from how to avoid dodgy scams to writing an effective complaint letter. Check out some of our greatest hits below, explore the categories listed on the left-hand side of the page, or head to CR.org for ratings, reviews, and consumer news.

Everybody loves rebates! Well, except when it comes to redeeming them. For those of you out there who have to deal with especially responsible consumers who always fill out the paperwork correctly (ugh!) here are a few suggestions that can increase “breakage” and make sure that your company doesn’t have to pay any more rebates than is necessary!

“We’ve mailed you the ‘reward letter,’ really! You must have missed it!” Make the process as complicated as possible! Don’t just hand someone a free television just because you owe them one. First, mail them a letter with a secret code on it. Then, tell them to go to a certain special website and enter the code. After that, tell them to enter their shipping address and they’ll get their TV. I know what you’re thinking: “We already know where they live, why not just send them the TV?” Because some of them will mess it up, dummy! The fewer TVs you have to send, the better it is for your bottom line.